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Hansbrough's NBA Adaptation

Rewind back to the middle of December in Boston. The Pacers are struggling, coach Jim O’Brien is making odd substitutions and Tyler Hansbrough can’t seem to get meaningful playing time.

Prior to that Dec. 19 game against the Celtics, Hansbrough had played in just 16 of 25 games, tallying more than 20 minutes just five times.

“I haven’t been playing, but I guess the practice time has been useful,” Hansbrough, clearly frustrated, said when I asked him about his dearth of minutes.

In a 99-88 loss to the Celtics, the second-year forward went 0-for-4 from the field with four rebounds in 12 minutes. He played sparingly thereafter, until Jan. 7 when he logged 36 minutes against the Spurs. He rewarded O’Brien with 23 points and 12 rebounds on 10-for-19 shooting in a narrow defeat.

Hansbrough has played in 18 games since – he missed two games in late January with an illness – never playing fewer than 15 minutes.

While a number of Pacers have excelled under interim coach Frank Vogel, Hansbrough’s rise began before O’Brien was fired on Jan. 30. Two of Hansbrough's best games of the season came in January when he had 23 and 21 on 52.6% shooting against San Antonio and 27 points and 10 boards on 58.8% shooting against the Nuggets.

He is averaging 10.8 points and 4.6 rebounds in 23.4 minutes this month, down a tad from the 12.4 points and 6.0 boards he posted in a minute less per game in January. The Pacers have played better, so we’ll excuse his dip in production, but his shooting percentage is troubling.

After hitting 49.6% of his shots in January, he’s shooting just 40.5% in February heading into the break.

There hasn’t been a gross variation in his shot selection over the last month, but it’s clear that Hansbrough needs to stick close to the basket and rely on his footwork and work ethic. His eFG% on jumpers (74% of his attempts) is just 38.1% this season.

Around the basket, the mark nearly doubles to 66.7%, but only a fourth of his attempts are from inside. The trick for Hansbrough to become a better isn’t just shot selection though, it’s also opportunity. His usage rate has dropped from 25.5% as a rookie to 22.0% this season. He also isn't getting to the line with as much frequency, dropping from 8.0 free throw attempts per 36 minutes to 5.6.

Given 25-plus minutes, he can easily notch four-six points on the offensive glass alone.

The issue with Hansbrough’s post offense is that when he’s not tipping the ball into the basket or dunking it, he’s getting his shot blocked an inordinate amount of the time. He has been rejected on 17% of his inside shots, including 21% of what 82games.com deems “close” attempts.

After playing in just 29 games in his rookie season due to injury, Hansbrough is finally getting a chance to adapt to the NBA.

Rewind back to the middle of December in Boston. The Pacers are struggling, coach Jim O’Brien is making odd substitutions and Tyler Hansbrough can’t seem to get meaningful playing time.

Prior to that Dec. 19 game against the Celtics, Hansbrough had played in just 16 of 25 games, tallying more than 20 minutes just five times.

“I haven’t been playing, but I guess the practice time has been useful,” Hansbrough, clearly frustrated, said when I asked him about his dearth of minutes.

In a 99-88 loss to the Celtics, the second-year forward went 0-for-4 from the field with four rebounds in 12 minutes. He played sparingly thereafter, until Jan. 7 when he logged 36 minutes against the Spurs. He rewarded O’Brien with 23 points and 12 rebounds on 10-for-19 shooting in a narrow defeat.

Hansbrough has played in 18 games since – he missed two games in late January with an illness – never playing fewer than 15 minutes.

While a number of Pacers have excelled under interim coach Frank Vogel, Hansbrough’s rise began before O’Brien was fired on Jan. 30. Two of Hansbrough's best games of the season came in January when he had 23 and 21 on 52.6% shooting against San Antonio and 27 points and 10 boards on 58.8% shooting against the Nuggets.

He is averaging 10.8 points and 4.6 rebounds in 23.4 minutes this month, down a tad from the 12.4 points and 6.0 boards he posted in a minute less per game in January. The Pacers have played better, so we’ll excuse his dip in production, but his shooting percentage is troubling.

After hitting 49.6% of his shots in January, he’s shooting just 40.5% in February heading into the break.

There hasn’t been a gross variation in his shot selection over the last month, but it’s clear that Hansbrough needs to stick close to the basket and rely on his footwork and work ethic. His eFG% on jumpers (74% of his attempts) is just 38.1% this season.

Around the basket, the mark nearly doubles to 66.7%, but only a fourth of his attempts are from inside. The trick for Hansbrough to become a better isn’t just shot selection though, it’s also opportunity. His usage rate has dropped from 25.5% as a rookie to 22.0% this season. He also isn't getting to the line with as much frequency, dropping from 8.0 free throw attempts per 36 minutes to 5.6.

Given 25-plus minutes, he can easily notch four-six points on the offensive glass alone.

The issue with Hansbrough’s post offense is that when he’s not tipping the ball into the basket or dunking it, he’s getting his shot blocked an inordinate amount of the time. He has been rejected on 17% of his inside shots, including 21% of what 82games.com deems “close” attempts.

After playing in just 29 games in his rookie season due to injury, Hansbrough is finally getting a chance to adapt to the NBA.

I wonder how different his numbers would read if he would have gotten the foul called on some of those shots in which he was molested? I am guessing as he matures he will start to get some of those calls. He sure puts a lot of pressure on the other teams bigs. Remember, he fouled out Lamarcus Aldridge the other night. I am not worried. He is still a work in progress.

Re: Hansbrough's NBA Adaptation

Sure, sometimes he gets fouled and it doesn't get called. But I've seen almost every game this season and I have to admit that most of the time the blocks are legitimate.

"Freedom is nothing else but a chance to be better." - Albert Camus

"Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well." - Voltaire"Everyone's values are defined by what they will tolerate when it is done to others." - William Greider

Re: Hansbrough's NBA Adaptation

Prior to the tournament in his final season at NC, I had my doubts about Tyler's ability to transition to the NBA. I actually made some statements on here at that time that I really thought he wouldn't be much more than a Mark Madsen type of player.

But, I saw something during the games in the tournament his final season at NC that changed my opinion and I stated that around the time Bird drafted him. While I don't expect him to be a hall of fame type of player who leads his team deep into the postseason on his own as a #2, or even maybe a #3 option, I do expect him to be a solid contributor and core player and something beyond that of a Kurt Rambis/Madsen type of player who had little to contribute other than hustle and blue collar work. I think blue collar work will be a piece of his game, rather than a base that it's built upon, a few years from now. He's not a guy who has the ability to create his own shot from the 15-18 range on a consistent basis, I don't think, but I do believe he has the ability to create a little more from 10 feet in than I thought once upon a time, especially as his baseline turnaround gets fine tuned. His strength has a lot to do with it and I think he will only continue to improve his physical conditioning for at least 5-7 years in the league. In the low post, positioning will mean a lot with officiating as it is now and he can create a great, clean advantage in positioning with his strength.

As many around here say, "stay tuned".

Sometimes a player's greatest challenge is coming to grips with his role on the team. -- Scottie Pippen

Re: Hansbrough's NBA Adaptation

I wonder how different his numbers would read if he would have gotten the foul called on some of those shots in which he was molested? I am guessing as he matures he will start to get some of those calls. He sure puts a lot of pressure on the other teams bigs. Remember, he fouled out Lamarcus Aldridge the other night. I am not worried. He is still a work in progress.

I think if were going to start counting on more foul bailouts we are going to be trouble.

But I am happy with what he is now. Obviously the shot selection is not good and needs to improve at some point but he does what he does. He is scorer. That is his only mindset.